1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to exercise machines and exercise monitoring devices and more particularly to an interactive video coupled exercise apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Moderate exercise, at an appropriate heart rate, is widely regarded today as an excellent way to improve one's health when performed on a regular and frequent basis. Many people prefer individual activities such as cycling, running, rowing, or skiing. These activities are usually performed during good weather conditions. During foul weather conditions, in order to maintain a regular exercise program, many people use stationary exercise devices such as stationary bikes or bike stands, treadmills, ski machines and stair steppers. Some representative exercise machines are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,938,474; 4,949,993; 5,089,960; 5,207,621; and 5,403,252.
One of the drawbacks of using stationary exercise equipment is that the scenery, typically a wall or window, viewed during the exercise period doesn't change. This type of exercising is boring. Typically, the user can counter boredom by watching TV, playing a video game, or simply letting his/her mind wander. However, these methods don't provide much real incentive for user participation and an enhanced exercise experience.
One solution is to make a video game interactive with the exercise device and the aerobic level of the user. A number of approaches to this end have been proposed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,447 to suggests utilizing an exercise machine to move simulated weapons on a video screen in relation to targets on a video screen into position so that the targets may be shot. U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,741 to Pasierb, Jr. et al discloses a rowing machine with a video display that relates the distance between a pacer figure and a rowing figure to the user's stroke motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,069 to Hall-Tipping discloses an apparatus which couples an exercise device to a video game in which the heart rate of the user (aerobic level) and the exercise device output level (bicycle pedal rate) are coupled to a standard video game in addition to the normal game hand controls. The video game difficulty and game piece movement level as well as the pedal resistance are changed in response to the heart rate signal in order to keep the user exercising at the desired or programmed rate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,519 to Hsu et al discloses a computer controlled running machine which tilts and changes endless belt speed in synchronization with a computer CD programmed with various road conditions and sounds. The CD provides visual images and sounds of the road to the user via a head mounted visual-acoustic mask. There is no mechanism to vary the visual or audio effects due to the activity of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,411 to Rackman et al discloses an exercise bike coupled through a speed sensor and a noise generator to a TV to introduce noise into the TV channel if the user exercises below a preset level or above another preset level.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,417 to Smithson et al discloses an arcade type bicycle racing simulation device which visually portrays, in an animated video scene, a rider's movements on an exercise bike in response to a variable terrain in the computer generated animated video. Sensors on the bicycle sense pedal speed and leaning position and feed this information to a computer which uses computer animation to change the position of an animated figure in the video scene of the track.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,678 to Friedebach et al discloses a skiing simulation device that is coupled to a video display which shows images of the terrain that the skier is moving over. The video system such as a video tape may send control signals to servo-motors to increase or decrease resistance to the movement of the skates depending on the viewed terrain on the tape. U.S. patent No. 5,489,249 to Brewer et al discloses another exercise machine control system coupled to a videotape player via the player's audio and/or video track to control the exercise machine resistance. However, there is no interaction with or control of the video in response to the user's efforts in these patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,296 discloses an interactive exercise device that utilizes interactive compact disc driven adventure scenarios and the user's physical responses to generate different outcomes to the computer generated scenarios presented on the video monitor. Speed and timing of exercise actions are required in order to advance through the scenario program.
Another simulated environment is displayed on a video display coupled to an exercise apparatus in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,462,503 to Benjamin et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,200 to Ulrich et al. These patents disclose a networked computer generated environment through which one or more users navigate on an exercise device such as a recumbent exercise bicycle with pedals and a steering control. The computer controls the resistance against pedaling and generates display of the relative positions of the networked users in the computer generated environment.
Each of these prior art references, that utilizes video scenes to enhance the exercise experience, relies on computer generated video scenes in order to simulate the visual progress of the user passing through the displayed visual environment. Although some video systems coupled to exercise devices utilize real-time video such as videotapes of wild scenic country or races, etc., none of these systems interactively control the speed of the user passing through the viewed "windows" or scenery.